hades game au, thanzag.

“back so soon?”

a figure emerging from the red waters merely grunts at the death incarnate’s snarky remark. joohyun had been waiting for this, eyeing the princess of the underworld with an icy glare. she reclines on one of the many luxurious couches that line the entrance to the house of hades, pushing her duty as the god of death aside. 

oh, she definitely has things to do — souls to collect and whatnot. but this isn’t the first time seungwan has made it to the surface, in fact, it’s the tenth. so why the hell does she keep coming back?

the princess threw the underworld into utter chaos when she decided she wanted to reach the surface. no rhyme or reason, seungwan began to tear the depths of the tartarus apart. joohyun only found out when the erinyes were summoned, pulled away from their duties to keep the princess from escaping. but when they, alongside beings ranging from fiendish creatures to esteemed champions of elysium, could not stop her, joohyun's presence was finally required.

of all the tasks that has been handed to her, dragging seungwan back to the underworld has been the most unpleasant of all. they had more to say at the start, when seungwan still tried to persuade her to let her go. now, they've met more times than she can count and her scythe clashes with whatever weapon the princess can get her hands on. with blessings from the gods of olympus, death means nothing to seungwan.

despite being a god, and the goddess of death at that, dying is a painful affair — joohyun would know that, considering how she’s the one stepping out of the pool an hour ago. how the princess endured hundreds of deaths is an impressively annoying feat. she had been able to keep seungwan in the underworld for a while, but eventually, the princess learnt and adapted. or perhaps the divine boons got stronger, either way, seungwan is consistently sending her back to the house.

“you don’t understand what it’s like.” seungwan growls as she dries herself off with a towel.

joohyun grips her scythe tightly, their relationship has grown and changed much since their first battle. words dripping with venom are exchanged each time; gone are the days of their childhood.

she grits her teeth, "it's not like you ever bothered to tell me."

"what?"

"you left, without so much as telling me goodbye. even a note would have been nice." joohyun spits, "do you think i’d rather fight you than do my actual job?”

the princess stiffens, fixing her gaze on the death incarnate. she looks apologetic, but the goddess of death knows that their friendship has always been an afterthought. 

joohyun scoffs, rising to her feet as she steps away from the young goddess. "whatever, i don't care, you'll end up back here anyway. you can escape me but you can’t escape the fates."

the goddess of death is bitter, so what? if the gods of olympus are allowed to have tantrums, she's allowed to be upset at this act of betrayal.

"i just wanted to see my mother."

joohyun freezes in her spot, turning slightly, "the queen?"

"you knew." seungwan’s voice escapes in a quiet, shocked gasp. it rises into rage and she snarls at the death incarnate, “you knew of the existence of my mother, and you hid it from me?”

joohyun lets a wry scoff slip, it's hard to be a friend when her duties to the house take precedence. befriending the daughter of her boss left many secrets between them, some of which she was sworn to secrecy. 

"was it my place to tell you that your mother left you here?" joohyun mutters, "have you considered that everyone in this house has been trying to protect you from that fact?”

seungwan drops her jaw in shock, lips quivering as she tries to think of anything to rebut joohyun’s words, but she comes up empty. the death incarnate wishes she could console her but with all the trouble she’s caused in the past few months, joohyun can’t see past her anger.

"the queen isn't coming back. i suggest you stop before you throw everything away." joohyun seethes and starts to walk away.

"except i don't know how to!" seungwan shouts, "i've met her and she's more than i could ever wish for! i don't know how i can return here, call this place a home when she's out there, alone!"

the death incarnate swivels around, grabbing the princess by her chiton and pins her against the nearest pillar.

"then break out for good, stay on the ing surface. stop coming back if nothing here is worthy enough for you." joohyun growls.

seungwan droops her shoulders, her eyes gleaming with the first traces of tears and she expels a heavy sigh. "i can't stay out there, my soul is bound to this wretched place."

"what do you mean?"

"it doesn't matter how hard i fight, something always kills me on the surface." the princess mumbles.

the goddess of death loosens her grip, letting seungwan fall. so this is why she returns, only because she didn't have a choice.

“i'm sorry, joohyun.” seungwan exhales, her voice a mere whisper, “i didn't mean to make things difficult for you."

joohyun tightens her jaw, "it's a little late for that now, isn't it?"

"i know, but there's nowhere i could go where you can't find me. i'm not leaving, i just want to bring my mother home." seungwan swallows, "can you help me?"

reaching for her chest, joohyun grunts. she yanks her brooch of her chiton — a lilac butterfly imbued with her powers, and presses it into the palm of seungwan’s hand. a keepsake from the goddess of death could not even come close to the blessings of the gods above, but at the very least, it would let joohyun know if seungwan needed a little help to hide her presence from the fates.

“all you ever had to do was ask.”

“thank you.” seungwan pulls the death incarnate into a tight hug and inhales deeply.

 joohyun struggles but finds herself unable to escape the princess.

“don’t you have better things to do? like escaping the underworld?” joohyun grumbles.

“let me have this,” seungwan sighs, “it’s the first time in weeks since you’ve spoken to me.”

“fine.”

endnotes:

this game slapped and i swear the hurt thanatos' voice is burned into my mind.